


Time Will Tell

by DoctorHarrisonWells



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5295164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorHarrisonWells/pseuds/DoctorHarrisonWells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harrison Wells is back from the dead with memories of his life as Eobard. Follow along as he reestablishes his life in Central City. This will be my variant of The Flash starting after Season 1 with a main focus on Harrison Wells. Slow build SnoWells. Read A/N inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place 1 month after Ronnie died closing the singularity as Firestorm. Also, in this AU the flash drive with Eobard’s confession never existed.   
> Before reading, I’d like to give a very big nod to Crazedtroll who was incredibly helpful with the production of this fic, and who co-created many of the ideas you’ll be reading. Check out their work :)  
> I warn you, this fic is only complete up to chapter 7. It is on an indefinite hiatus, but I am willing to let the right person adopt it. I will remove this from the description if it gets adopted, so if you see this and are interested, PM me.   
> Disclaimer: I own nothing from the TV shows ‘The Flash’ or ‘The Arrow’.
> 
> Copied over from FFN

Harrison Wells abruptly sat up in his hospital bed and gasped in a lungful of air. It took a moment to hear the loud beeping coming from a machine beside the bed and longer still for his eyes to adjust to the lighting in the room. An influx of medical professionals appeared, he counted two nurses and a doctor, and turned off the beeping from his heart rate monitor. Harrison blinked a few times before his senses started honing in to the present. He realized the nurse was calmly questioning him, the most recent question asking if he could hear her. A grunted ‘yes’ was all he could get out before memories started hitting him like a brick wall. The death of Tess ran through his mind, then the ceremony announcing the opening of the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator. Next he saw the accelerator exploding, and then saw flashing scenes of himself and 3 coworkers hunting down various…what were they called…meta-humans? Harrison then saw himself in a grey room with a yellow suit, and then his memories seemed to jump to a black hole forming in the ring of the accelerator. But nothing after that. Unbeknownst to him, during this barrage of memories his heart rate had spiked. And once more, everything was black.

The next time Harrison awoke, the experience seemed more natural to him. His senses came to him almost immediately, and the attack of emotions and memories from his last time awake had calmed somewhat. He slowly sat up in his bed. The nurse stationed outside his room was on her computer and came in after noticing his movement.

“Good morning, sir. Are you hearing me okay right now?” She looked on him with concern etching her features.

His voice was hoarse, but he answered her, “Yes, I can hear you.” He had so many questions, but didn’t know where to start. Why was he here? How did he get here? The last memory he had was of the Eobard Thawne that had stolen his body dying because his ancestor shot himself in the heart. But why could he remember all this? How was he alive in the first place, considering he remembered burying his own corpse after his murder? It took a moment to register that the nurse was asking another question. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

The nurse smiled softly in understanding. “Can you tell me your name, sir? The gentleman who called paramedics for you said you didn’t have any identification on your person.”

He knew there were many standard questions she would have to ask him and took in a steadying breath. “My name is Harrison Wells. Can you tell me where I was found? How long have I been here?”

“I’d be happy to answer all your questions in a moment, but I need to get a few questions of my own settled first. Can you tell me what day it is and the last thing you remember?” the nurse asked him.

Harrison knew he couldn’t tell her the last thing he remembered. He didn’t even fully understand what was going on himself. “I believe it’s sometime in May 2015. I don’t remember what happened.” Quick as ever, he realized it might be wise to have a cover story and added, “I think I got drunk and my friends left me on the side of the road.” Not a great cover, but one that wouldn’t require a police report.

The nurse shook her head. “Well, just to inform you Mister Wells, it’s actually July 21, 2015. We’re not sure why, but you’ve been in a coma-like state for just over a month now. You already seem to be recovering much faster than the typical coma patient.” She watched him look back from herself down to his bed and could tell he was deep in thought, trying to catch up to the present. She placed a hand on his leg. “How about I give you some time to yourself to recoup while I update some paperwork. Do you have a next of kin or someone else to contact?” He shook his head, and she reciprocated with a nod before walking back out to her computer in the hallway. The nurse updated the system with his name and added notes to the medical fields of his file.

Harrison collapsed back onto the bed, frustrated at the confusion he was experiencing. His first thought was to get to STAR Labs and have Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry help him figure out what was going on, but he realized he had never actually had a relationship with any of them. He remembered that Eobard knew them and could remember every experience they had together, but they had no idea who he truly was. He knew he couldn’t just barge into the cortex asking for answers. But…he had nowhere else he could go. Grief overwhelmed him as he thought about Tess having been gone for 15 years now. He had no family to his name and no close friends. He had no one to go back to. The decision of what to do had to be made. The only medical reason for him to stay was for them to clear him as healthy after the odd condition he’d been in, so he needed to decide where he would go when he left.

It had been long enough that his imposter’s estate might have been dealt with already and he probably had absolutely nothing to his name. No identification, no vehicle, no house, no job. The most logical conclusion would be to find some way to get to STAR Labs and have Team Flash help him determine what happened. He just needed to think of a way to do that without Barry throwing him against a wall with his hands wrapped around his throat. Eobard did not leave him much to work with.

After a couple days passed, his doctor and nurses had watched his vitals and determined he was in good health and ready to be released, though they did note the speed of his recovery was not typical. They asked him to stay and get more testing done to determine what exactly brought about his condition, but he declined. They gracefully provided him with clothing, shoes, and wire-rimmed glasses, since the man who brought him in had found him stark naked. That was all the information the medical staff really had to give him, and that much wasn’t truly helpful except when he realized that the location where they said he was found was the same road on which he was murdered. That was absolutely no coincidence.

* * *

Back at STAR Labs, Team Flash had just imprisoned a new meta-human with the ability to scatter his cells in a way that made him camouflage. Barry left the facility earlier in the day, so that evening Cisco was in his workroom and Caitlin was in the cortex catching up on some molecular bio-engineering research. Cisco heard his laptop ping with an alert he’d created to flag any appearance of the name ‘Harrison Wells’. Any credit cards, bank accounts, hospitalizations, imprisonments, everything. He hadn’t expected anything to come of it and had mostly forgotten about it, but the alert said that someone was in a hospital in Star City with the name Harrison Wells. It could just be a coincidence, or a trick even. But it definitely could not go unchecked. Cisco debated with himself whether or not to tell Caitlin and Barry. He didn’t think either would have a reaction he’d want to deal with. Caitlin would most likely break down in some way, and he didn’t want her to suffer with that. Barry would probably storm off from wherever he was to the hospital to take on Doctor Wells without giving it any forethought. No, he had to deal with this himself. He decided the best plan of action would be to go home tonight and prepare to take tomorrow off and discreetly visit the hospital in Star City. He sent out texts to both Barry and Caitlin saying that he would be taking a personal day tomorrow to deal with a situation that popped up with his brother. Hopefully they wouldn’t press him for more details.

If he wanted to drive the 600 miles to Star City and 600 miles back and be back in time for work the day after tomorrow, he needed to leave by 11pm. He packed a bag with some of his tech, just in case. He would also need a nap before the drive, so he set his alarm for 10pm and laid on the couch with the TV on for background noise. The idea that either Harrison Wells, some trickster, or even God forbid some form of Eobard was out there somewhere did not allow him much comfort. None of those possibilities seemed likely or sensible at all, but he had to investigate. Later he woke up from his unrestful nap and started the drive to Star City General Hospital where this supposed Harrison Wells was located.

When he pulled up in the parking lot 9 hours later and stepped out of his car, he realized he hadn’t thought about how he would get in, or even how he would find out what room Doctor Wells occupied. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about that, because he watched as Harrison Wells stepped out from the front entrance onto the sidewalk.

* * *

After completing all the necessary paperwork when he awoke, a nurse escorted Harrison in a wheelchair to the front entrance of the hospital. He was bothered by being in a wheelchair knowing that his murderer pretended to need one for more than a year. At the entrance, he stepped out and gave the nurse an appreciative nod. He had no money to his name and no one to call. Barring theft, he hoped he’d either be able to hitch a ride from someone or that a bus driver would be kind enough to let him ride free of charge. Harrison stepped out from under the overhang and into the sunlight, feeling the warmth touch his face. He looked up at the sky and back down to the horizon, and then dragged his vision to the parking lot before him. He scanned the lot, thinking about which direction to go when he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Harrison realized something was off about the parking lot and rescanned it with a more careful eye, stopping when he saw Cisco Ramon looking at him with a little fear and a lot of shock, standing next to his car.

Harrison was glad Cisco didn’t just hop back into his car and drive away, although he wouldn’t have been surprised if that happened. So he inhaled a calming breath, preparing himself for what might come, and looked both directions before making the trek across the lot. When he was just a couple yards away he slowed his pace and resumed eye contact, but Cisco backed away in trepidation. Harrison figured he should speak first. “Hi, Cisco,” he said slowly, anticipating a bad reaction. When none came, he spoke again. “I don’t even know where to start, and I doubt you’ll believe me at first- I would completely understand if you don’t trust me at all,” he tapered off nervously. Eobard’s relationship with Cisco had been one close enough to seriously cut the man deep when he realized all the lies. He imagined Cisco was hurt even more by the realization that Eobard’s feelings for him were genuine, considering how convoluted his tale had been. “I woke up here a few days ago and they told me I’ve been in a sort of coma for a little over a month. Someone found me on the road where Tess and I died.” That was still so hard for him to talk about. Those memories had been tightly locked away when Eobard possessed his likening, so they were still raw now that they had been opened up to the man who wasn’t an imposter.

Cisco could tell that last sentence was hard for him to say, and that in general, Doctor Wells was uncomfortable to be standing in front of him. He certainly didn’t seem like Eobard by the way he spoke, but Cisco wasn’t even close to being able to trust this man yet. Harrison continued to speak, “I’m Doctor Harrison Wells. The real one. I can remember everything Eobard did and said to everyone for the last 15 years. It’s almost like I can remember his memories in the way a coma patient would describe their experience of being comatose. I can tell you more details of everything I remember outside of what I’ve already said, but to be honest, I’d rather not converse in this parking lot.” He looked around and then back at Cisco, hoping the young man would agree.

Cisco took a moment before adjusting his stance and speaking his first words to Harrison. “If you’re real, this will have been the first time I’ve actually met you. I have to tell you I’m really frakking scared right now of who you could be or what motives you might have, but,” he paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m going to take a really big risk here and give you a chance. Why don’t we go somewhere to talk. Like a coffee shop or something.”

Harrison looked on Cisco with a bit of admiration that he would be so willing to keep his heart open to him, even if just a fraction. “Sure.” Harrison bared an almost imperceptible smile and stepped to the passenger side of the vehicle.

They rode in silence to the Star City Jitters. The two men stepped out of the car and walked into the facility, Harrison walking to an open table and Cisco heading to the counter. He watched Doctor Wells pull a chair out from the table and wondered why he didn’t head to the register, and the realization hit him that Harrison probably didn’t have a wallet on him. He probably didn’t have anything to his name, actually. If he was truly an anomaly, which he would have to be if he were the real Harrison Wells, then he probably appeared out of thin air with absolutely nothing. No identity, no money, and no place to go. The cashier interrupted his thoughts asking if there was anything she could do for him, and he placed an order for two black coffees. Normally he would be a little more creative with his order, but he could use the bold flavor of a black coffee right now. Within a few moments he was walking to the table Harrison had chosen. It seemed he interrupted the older man’s thoughts, as he had quickly looked up from the spot on the table he had been staring at.

Harrison noticed that Cisco had gotten two coffees. “Thanks Cisco. For the coffee, but also for even giving me the chance to talk to you about this. I had no idea how I was going to restart after what’s happened. I still don’t.”

“What did happen, Doctor Wells?” Cisco asked honestly. Harrison could tell he was sincere and open to the truth he had to offer.

“It was some technology from the future used to take my life and DNA for himself. My body looked like it was sucked dry, and at that point, my memories shift from being my own to being foggy and belonging to Eobard.”

Cisco looked at him, doing his best to internalize and understand things from Harrison’s perspective. “I’m sorry to hear that, Doctor Wells. I’m sure you have a memory of one of Eobard’s cameras showing that Joe and I found your body. Buried on the side of the road.”

“I do, yes.” Anger bubbled inside him remembering what Eobard Thawne had taken from him, but it wouldn’t do him any good to get upset about that right now. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly and pushed himself to continue. “That’s the last memory I have as myself. And you already know what happened when I woke up. I haven’t been able to formulate an explanation for this yet. Maybe somehow I am the timeline correcting itself in a way, but I really have no idea how this happened. I understand how much Thawne hurt you. But I truly hope you can accept my explanation and help me figure out what happened. I have no place else to go, really. You, Caitlin, and Barry are the only people I had in my life when Eobard had my body, and the only person close to me from my past that doesn’t despise me now is dead. I’m going to need a place to sleep, a job, clothing.” He stopped short to put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. Cisco could tell he was overwhelmed with the whole situation, and he couldn’t blame him at all. He’d probably be reacting a lot worse than Harrison if it were him.

Cisco thought for a moment and undecidedly said, “I think Caitlin might come around to the idea more quickly than Barry. But I don’t want to contact her right now, cause then Barry and the others might know something was up and get suspicious. Maybe I should ask her to meet me later tonight at STAR Labs. And you could wait in another room til it was okay for you to come out, so I could have a chance to explain things to her first. I mean, I’m not completely sure I trust your story yet, but it’s the most logical truth. And you do seem completely different than the Doctor Wells I knew, although I can’t pinpoint why.”

“I think that’ll work, Cisco. I don’t have many other choices, really.”

Cisco thought about just how many things Doctor Wells would be needing and suggested, “Why don’t I take you out to get a few of the things you’ll need? I can drive you back to Central City after, if you want.” He could see Harrison was about to interrupt and added, “And I can pay for it, don’t worry. I don’t have a lot, but I can at least help you get on your feet til we get everything with you sorted. We can get you a new cell phone and a couple pairs of clothes to start while we wait for tonight to come around.”

Harrison appreciated, just for a moment, that Eobard made a good choice selecting Cisco to work with him. He seemed a very generous, loyal person. He smiled in gratitude. “Thank you Cisco. That would be more than helpful to me.”

* * *

Caitlin received a text from Cisco earlier in the day asking to meet up with him after work and not to mention it to Barry or anyone else. The secrecy of the request worried her momentarily, but she was interested in what he might have to talk to her about. Around 6 in the evening, they had finished up in the lab. Shortly after everyone left, she texted Cisco that it was okay to come over. Cisco and Harrison got back into town after the long drive and went straight to the lab.

Harrison took a seat in the hallway just outside the cortex while Cisco popped his head in and saw Caitlin looking at a research paper on her computer. She turned around when she heard his steps. “Hey, Cisco. We missed you today. Nothing eventful happened, so it was kind of boring actually.” She noticed his expression seemed more serious than she expected. “How was your day? Did something happen?”

Cisco looked away from her and gathered his thoughts. “Caitlin, what if I told you that the possibility was there for time to try correcting itself after the singularity. So…certain people who were dead or alive, might be the opposite now.”

She was worried where his question might have been leading, but took the bait anyway. “I… don’t know. I think it would depend on what you’re actually trying to say.”

Cisco pulled a chair out from the desk to sit and converse with her face to face. “Caitlin, just over a month ago, a man was found unconscious on the side of a road in Star City. He just woke up from being in a coma-like state since the day he was found, and claimed the identity of a dead man.”

Her mind raced at the possibilities. “Who was it?”

“Promise me you will give me a chance to explain what I know before you freak out, okay?”

She was hesitant to promise but knew he wouldn’t tell her if she didn’t. “Okay. Tell me.”

“They found Harrison Wells. Alive and well, the real Harrison Wells,” he said in a rush.

She stood up, incredulous. “How long have you known this? How could you trust this information? Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Her hands were clenched at her sides.

“Caitlin please, you promised.” He stood up with her and willed her to sit back down. “Give me a minute to explain.” She eventually complied and they resumed their former positions. “After everything happened with the singularity, I created an alert on my laptop to tell me if anything popped up with the name ‘Harrison Wells’. I never expected anything to come of it, I just had a feeling it was something I should do. And yesterday, my computer dinged telling me that a man by the name of Harrison Wells was in the Star City General Hospital. I drove all night to go check it out this morning. I haven’t been keeping anything from you, I just wanted to check it out and make sure it wasn’t nothing before I told anyone about it. You can understand that, can’t you?”

Caitlin knew if it were her she would have done the same, and she couldn’t hold on to any negative feelings toward Cisco for this. “I can understand.”

Cisco relayed everything Harrison and he had talked about to Caitlin, watching many different emotions wash over her face. When he finished, he said, “Caitlin, he’s here. He needs our help to find out what happened and to get his life started again.”

Caitlin’s eyes were now wide open and trepidation clouded her thoughts for a moment before she regained control of herself. “Where is he, Cisco?”

Harrison had of course been listening the whole time, waiting for the cue to enter if everything had went well. “Doctor Wells,” he heard Cisco call. He sighed and stood up off the floor, putting his hands together in front of his face and gathering himself to see Caitlin. He turned into the hallway leading to the cortex and walked the few yards until he was standing a few feet away from her. Cisco moved to stand next to him while Caitlin absorbed all the information and the reality that some form of Harrison Wells was standing in front of her this very moment.

“I…I really want this to be true. I want to trust you, but you must know how hard that will be if this is all true.” She looked at him hoping he understood.

“I do. I expected nothing less. Since I retain all the memories from the last 15 years, I know what he did to Ronnie and all the lies he fed you for so long. But I’m not him. I’m not. And I hope that you both, and Barry as well, will be able to give me a chance to prove that to you, so I can make something out of whatever life it is that I have left.” She could see the wounds he carried from what happened to his life. She couldn’t even imagine 15 years of her life being stolen from her like that, but she could imagine the death of someone she loved, as she’d dealt with it herself. Caitlin sympathized with him.

She straightened her posture and resolved within herself to give this Harrison a chance. The likelihood of his tale being a lie was very small. The possibility was definitely there, but like Cisco, she was able to see small things that set him apart from the Eobard version of him that she knew. She felt inclined to trust this man and to help him. He was not the man she had gotten to know over the past few years, all three of them recognized that. But she wanted to get to know him. “Okay. I guess now we just need to figure out how to tell Barry.”


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, maybe telling Barry first isn't the best move to make," Harrison suggested. "After all, I do need to get my identity sorted, and a place to sleep. It will most likely be an unpleasant experience, but maybe we should talk to Detective West first. He may have connections within the police force that can bring me back from the dead, so to speak. I can't imagine that walking into the DMV claiming the identity of a recently deceased man would go over well." Caitlin and Cisco slowly nodded in agreement.

Caitlin looked up at him from her thoughts. "Do you…have some place to stay tonight?" As much as she felt she needed to give this time before putting any trust in this new Doctor Wells, she felt oddly at peace around him. She didn't sense any trace, any resemblance of Eobard in him at all. "Cisco has a one bedroom apartment, and mine isn't much larger. But maybe we could find some place in here for you to stay til we get your identity sorted."

They all thought for a moment of where might be a good place to keep him hidden for a night or two, until they revealed him to everyone else. "Doctor Snow, I doubt any place here would work. There's too high a risk of Barry or someone else finding me," he stated honestly.

Caitlin prompted, "Well, you could stay on my couch." Cisco's eyes snapped up to her, widened in surprise at her offer. Harrison didn't hide his surprise either.

"I couldn't impose on you like that, you've only just met me. I can't imagine you'd be comfortable having me in your home after everything that's happened." Caitlin closed her eyes and took a moment to make sure this was something she was willing to do. And for some reason, it seemed like it was.

"Yes, Doctor Wells. I think I can manage a couple days with you on my couch. And I know that if you don't turn out to be who you say, Barry will make sure to take care of that," she said with conviction and the hint of a threat in her eyes. Harrison was taken aback at her reaction, but knew he couldn't blame her.

He started slowly, "I guess I can work with that, Doctor Snow. And maybe the next person after Detective West we should tell is Doctor Stein. Out of everyone, he seems the most knowledgeable in subject matter such as this."

Cisco added, "Yeah. Why don't we call Joe tonight and get him in the loop so that if he doesn't want to kill you, he can start getting stuff taken care of at the precinct tomorrow. And then we'll tell Doctor Stein after Barry leaves the office tomorrow. So that way when we tell Barry, we can try to keep him from hurting you if things go bad." Harrison sighed heavily at the difficulty he was dealing with. It was such a mess he had to clear up. His life was in shambles, ruined by his murderer. Only a handful of people on Earth were familiar with all the scientific breakthroughs to happen in the past few months and even fewer people existed to believe the truth of what happened. Caitlin watched the man in front of her and all the stress responses his body was going through. His shoulders were sagged and he seemed to have dark circles forming under his eyes. His face was currently buried in his hands, so she was lead to believe he was taking this possibly even harder than Cisco and herself.

She couldn't stop herself from reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Harrison knew who had touched him, and he slowly looked up, surprised at the companionship she seemed to be offering. "You're going to make it through this, Doctor Wells. We'll help you. We all will, eventually. I'm sure of it."

He saw the conviction in her eyes of the truth of her words. He moved his free hand to place atop hers. "Thank you."

Cisco had been watching this scene unfold in disbelief. He was curious at the trust Caitlin was showing Doctor Wells, so soon after she found out he was alive. Less than an hour, actually. But Cisco came to himself and kept the ball rolling. "Alright, how 'bout I call Joe right now and tell him there's something he needs to see over here."

"Sounds like a plan," Harrison replied. He then gently removed Caitlin's hand from his shoulder and turned around, walking further into the room. "Actually, would you mind if I walked around while you do that? I could use a few moments to think."

"Yeah. Sure, Doctor Wells," Cisco responded. He dialed Joe West's number and watched Harrison leave the cortex. The phone was still ringing when Caitlin gestured that she was going to follow Harrison. Cisco nodded.

Harrison heard the clacking of high heeled shoes catching up to him. "Doctor Snow."

"Doctor Wells," she replied when she caught up to him, unsure of what to say.

"I must admit, it pleases me that you seem so willing to trust me, but I also have to wonder why." He continued walking toward the second level overlook to see where the particle accelerator explosion took place. As he leaned on the railing, Caitlin followed suit and then looked at him, seeming to form her next words in her mind before speaking.

"You can walk." He knew that wasn't what she wanted to say, but it would do as an icebreaker.

"Yes." He half grinned at the obvious observation. Caitlin nodded and attempted to change the direction of the conversation.

"You just seem so different. I don't know why, though. Everything about you down to the way you turn your eyes away to hide your discomfort- Eobard never did that. I can tell you're hurting and dealing with everything you've learned. I just- I don't know how I can tell, but you're a completely different man. Which means I don't really know you." Caitlin realized the truth of what she was saying and looked back from him down to the accelerator ring.

"You know, Tess and I talked about building this place right before Eobard killed us. I wanted to call it TESS for Technological Engineering Scientific Studies, but she came up with the name STAR Labs. Because I was 'the only star she saw'." He chuckled darkly. "And now, here I am, standing inside of what we had only dreamed of creating, and it's destroyed. All my dreams have been destroyed because of that scum of a man. He did so many things I planned to do, and then he destroyed it all leaving me with next to nothing." Caitlin listened quietly, watching him work through his emotions. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, I know you've got your own demons you're dealing with. Ronnie died, and you found him again only to lose him once more." He looked at her and she returned the gaze. "I'm sorry. For what it's worth."

"You didn't do anything, Doctor Wells." She looked away from him then. He turned toward her and looked at her more fully, observing the strength and perseverance hidden inside her.

"What do you say we get back to Cisco."

"Okay."

* * *

They returned to the cortex and asked if Joe was on his way.

"He said he'd be here in 5 minutes, 5 minutes ago. So any second now." They all seemed to be gathering their nerve. Out of all of them besides Barry, Joe would be the hardest to convince. He had never trusted Doctor Wells, and had the misfortune of watching him hurt all of the people that he cared for. They didn't have to wait long before Joe walked into the cortex. As soon as he registered who was standing in front of him, he snatched his gun out of the holster and aimed it straight at Doctor Wells. Harrison backed up and threw his hands in the air in surrender and Cisco bravely jumped in front of him to get Joe's attention before he did something rash.

"Joe, please let us explain before you do anything. Please, give us just 5 minutes and hear us out." Joe didn't seem to respond, so he added once more, "Please."

Joe lowered his gun and looked from Harrison to Cisco with a glare. "You've got 2 minutes. Start talking."

He started with telling him what Harrison said happened 15 years ago and relayed how he could remember everything from when Eobard had his body, but that it was fuzzy as if he were comatose. He then told how Harrison had been found on the side of the road and what happened since. When he finished, Joe looked from Cisco, back to Harrison, and back to Cisco again. He raised his hand and pointed at Wells. "What makes you so sure he's really who he says he is?"

"Well obviously I can't be 100% certain Detective West, but I've been talking to him all day. He's so completely different. Caitlin can tell too. He just doesn't feel the same at all. If you'd give him a chance, I'm sure you'd see the same."

Joe took a few moments looking around the room, thinking about everything he had been told. They watched him holster his weapon, turn to Harrison with fierce eyes, and point toward his face. "If you so much as step one foot out of line, I will make sure you pay. Do you understand?" The threat hung in the air.

Harrison knew he didn't deserve to be treated this way, but none of these people knew him. He had to remind himself that it would take time for everyone to come around. Out of his willingness to be patient and keep peace, he nodded tersely. Joe wiped his hand down his face, still full of adrenaline from the past few minutes. Cisco piped up, "That wasn't the only reason we called you here. Since he woke up on the side of the road, and we're still not sure how that happened by the way, he has no identification or anything. And the will Eobard left is still being executed, so we were hoping you had some connections in the police force where you could help him restart his life. I know you don't trust him yet, but if he's being honest, it would really suck for him to have nowhere to go and no way to pay for things. Not to mention all the other stuff like having a car and a birth certificate."

Joe West was visibly debating with himself if he wanted to put his neck out for the man in front of him, only to realize he hadn't spoken with the man yet. His decision was made. "How bout I take you out to dinner seeing as you probably haven't had any yet, and we'll talk."

Harrison was more than happy to oblige if it would ease Joe's concerns about him. "That sounds perfectly reasonable, Detective West." Joe nodded curtly.

* * *

Caitlin made sure her number and everyone else's in Team Flash were in Harrison's phone before they all separated. She asked him to text her when they were done. She also texted him the address since Joe offered to drive him home afterward. Joe wasn't comfortable at all with this sleeping arrangement, but he chose to stay out of it and keep his eyes open.

Harrison didn't want to go to Big Belly Burger, and Jitters was out of the question. Instead they chose a local diner where they could remain mostly unseen and have a private conversation. They placed their order. Joe and Harrison hadn't spoken to one another since they left STAR Labs and the silence was dragging on. "Thank you for taking me out, Detective. I want you to know, I completely understand where you're coming from with your distrust of me. I'd feel the same if I were in your situation. But please understand that for me, I have memories of another man living in my body for the past 15 years. The last memory of my own before then was of my wife being murdered, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life now that I'm back."

Joe sat silently while watching him speak. The waitress interrupted his stare with the arrival of their drinks and he glanced up to her to thank her. Harrison did the same and in moments they were back to eyeing one another. "I don't want to admit it, but I can see what they're saying about something being different about you. I've hardly talked to you, but there's something that's changed. Your countenance is different somehow. And you don't seem so much like a man with a secret. From the beginning, I never trusted Eobard. I knew something was off."

"I remember. Everything's a little fuzzy, but I remember. It's difficult actually, because I recall having an established relationship with each of you, but at the same time, I have no relationship with any of you yet. It's also complicated because the memories I have of you are tainted by Eobard's own emotions at the time, and it makes it hard to see you all clearly." Joe contemplated what Wells said he was experiencing. How could something like this even happen? He couldn't imagine what the experience must have been like for him if he was telling the truth.

"Is there anything you could tell me to convince me you're telling me the truth? Because I gotta say, this whole thing is bizarre and I don't know what to believe." Harrison was incredibly grateful to see that Joe, like Cisco and Caitlin, seemed open to the possibility that this was all real.

"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, he lied to you for so long. And to make things worse, he seemed to really care about Barry in his own convoluted way." Harrison removed his glasses and placed them on the table before thoroughly rubbing his eyes. He had just finished replacing his glasses when the waitress arrived with their plates. They both nodded their gratitude, distracted by their own thoughts. Joe had a hard decision to make. Did he go out on a long limb to help this man regain some semblance of a life, or did he wait, leaving him in the balance until he was sure he could be trusted? The problem was, who knows how long it would be before he completely trusted him, if ever? Could he leave a possibly innocent and devastated man in the balance that long? Being honest with himself, he knew there was something different about this Harrison. The darkness Eobard radiated didn't seem to exist within him. He spoke differently, formed his thoughts differently, and didn't seem to be hiding serious instability beneath the surface. Joe could just read people, and as much as he didn't want to admit it yet, he believed he could trust this man. And he didn't want to punish an innocent man the way he unintentionally had with Henry Allen.

"I'll tell you what, Doctor Wells. Tomorrow morning, I'm gonna talk to Captain Singh and see if we can get any pull with the DA. I'll tell him everything you told me and see if there's some way we could nullify your death certificate and get you up and running." Harrison had been listening with bated breath and now released it in relief. He watched the man with untold gratitude. He knew this wasn't easy for Joe. He knew how big a risk Joe was taking to trust him.

"Thank you, Detective."

"Just don't make me regret it," he threatened, but much less seriously than earlier.

Harrison nodded with a small grin. "I won't."

* * *

It didn't take Harrison long to finish his meal, and since their meals were small, dinner concluded rather quickly. Harrison texted Caitlin that dinner was over and went well and that he would arrive shortly. The ride to Caitlin's apartment was spent in silence. Caitlin had the porch light on when they arrived, and Joe helped Harrison unload the things Cisco purchased from the back of his car. At the door, Harrison offered his hand to Joe. Joe waited a moment before grasping it with a firm shake. They each nodded and Joe headed back to his car while Harrison knocked on the door.

Caitlin must have been waiting for him, because the door opened mere seconds after his knock. Joe watched her invite Harrison in and drove off. "Doctor Wells, come in," she greeted. He stepped over the threshold and saw the quaint but inviting atmosphere. "Have a seat anywhere you like. Can I get you something to drink?"

His eyes swept over the living area and he asked for a glass of water. Turning back to her, he said, "Thanks. For the water, but also for offering to let me stay for a couple days."

"I've got a pillow and some blankets laid out for you on the chair over there," she pointed across the room, "and you can put your stuff right over here," she said pointing next to the couch. Harrison set the shopping bags on the floor and walked over to the far side of the couch to take a seat. Neither of them were sure what to say next. Caitlin remembered herself and moved to give Harrison his glass of water. She then sat on the couch a couple feet away from him. "I've thought about it, and I'm comfortable with starting over with you, if you are too. I'm sure neither of us can forget the past, nor do I want to, but I recognize that I probably don't know you well, if at all. And I'm interested in getting to know you. I'm willing to help you start fresh and help you move forward with your life."

Touched, Harrison called to mind all of the times Eobard recognized how unceasingly she impressed him. He didn't speak that thought however, not wanting to sound anything like Eobard. "I appreciate you very much, Doctor Snow."

"You can call me Caitlin." She seemed unsure of her words, but he would humor her will to be strong and move forward.

"And likewise you can call me Harrison. If you're comfortable with that." Caitlin smiled softly at him.

"Would you like a tour of my apartment, Harrison? There's not much to see, but at least you'll know where everything is." Harrison agreed to follow her around the apartment and committed the layout to memory. The last room she introduced was her bedroom, which was right next to the living room where he would be sleeping.

"Thank you, again, Caitlin. I know this must be difficult for you and I appreciate the effort you're putting forth to make me feel welcome." She looked up at him under the dim lighting of her room. They were probably standing too close, and their eyes were locked far longer than necessary. Harrison feigned a cough and broke eye contact. Caitlin gestured to the living room.

"You're a lot taller than I remember. You were in the wheelchair so long I had forgotten." He turned back to her, the now familiar look of sadness covering his features. He nodded with a tight lipped smile.

"I imagine so." He was silent for a moment. "I guess we should call it a night and sleep on everything that happened. We can resume tomorrow. I was thinking of suggesting that Detective West talk to Barry privately before we're reintroduced. And Cisco was going to arrange for me to meet with Doctor Stein tomorrow afternoon to catch him up to speed so he can help me."

"Did Joe agree to help you with getting an ID and things like that?" She was wringing her hands together not sure what to do with them.

"Yes, he did. He said he would talk to Captain Singh and see what he could do. He seemed very willing to accept what's happened and move forward with everything. As wretched a man as Eobard was, he seemed to surround himself with excellent people." He looked to the floor, remembering once again that none of them actually knew him yet.

Caitlin knew that she was included in his statement and blushed at the compliment. "Time will tell, but you don't seem so bad yourself." Once again their eyes met and lingered for a longer period than necessary. "Well, good night Harrison."

"Good night, Caitlin," he returned fondly.

* * *

Caitlin hadn't been able to sleep and sat atop her bed catching up on a novel. Around 3 in the morning, she heard a terrified scream coming from another room followed by heavy panting. She rushed out of bed and wrapped herself in her robe. She opened her door and slowly walked out into the living room to see Harrison startled awake, putting his glasses on his face.

"Hey, Harrison it's okay. What happened? Was it a nightmare?" she questioned and moved til she was within a foot of him. She placed her hand on his shoulder like she had the day previous, and Harrison pulled one of the hands covering his face down to cover hers. His panting took a minute to slow down to a normal speed and only then did he look up at the room. Caitlin reached over to the coffee table and handed him the water she poured for him earlier, their hands still touching. She noticed a sheen of sweat covering him.

When he finished the glass of water, he replaced it on the table. "Yeah. I was dreaming of the night Tess died and Eobard killed me." No more needed to be said. There were many nights she woke up screaming, having dreamed of both times Ronnie died. Harrison looked at her and was confused when he noticed she didn't look like she had slept at all. "Are you okay? You don't look like you've slept." He removed her hand from his shoulder and grasped it more firmly.

Having the tables turned, she suddenly didn't know what to say. It was a mixture of things that kept her awake. The second time Ronnie died had been only a month ago, and the fact that the real Harrison Wells was in her home, as opposed to the evil man who stole his body, left her unable to sleep. "Some nights, I have a harder time falling asleep than others. Ever since the particle accelerator exploded, there's been a barrage of new things and traumatizing events. And Ronnie died again so recently-" She couldn't help the tears that started forming in her eyes and the lump in her throat that cut off her speech, but she didn't let the tears fall. Harrison still noticed them however. He thought he could feel a sense of affection in Eobard's memories of her, but he could never tell her that. It would do nothing but harm to her. Instead he found himself complying with the instinct to move his hand to her face and wrap her in a hug. They both knew this was absurd after only having met a few hours ago, but they each needed comfort like this after everything that happened to them. Caitlin sniffled quietly while Harrison calmed his own mind and heart after his nightmare. He leaned against the back of the couch, not letting go of the embrace. She followed his movements and ended up next to him on the couch, her face still buried in his neck. They both lost the love of their life, and both had the memory still fresh in their mind. Neither could help the sense of companionship that formed from their shared grief.


	3. Chapter 3

Barry woke to the sound of his phone ringing. Groggy, he pressed 'answer' and lifted it to his face. "Yeah? It's Barry." On the other end of the line his adoptive father was telling him there was a murder just outside of town they needed to investigate. Sighing in discontent at being awoken at 4 in the morning, lightning followed him as he dressed and raced to a quarter mile from the murder scene. He walked the rest of the way. Joe was crouched next to the body, and a couple officers from CCPD were taking notes and talking about the scene. "Hey Joe." Barry's voice was still deep from sleeping.

"Hey, Barry. Look at this and tell me what you think." Joe noticed there were strange holes all over the man's torso and face, but there was no clue as to what caused them. He watched Barry don a pair of gloves and kneeled to inspect the man more closely.

"Well, there are holes all over his body. Judging by the blood underneath him, I would say they go all the way through to the back. There are a couple small fragments of glass on his shirt." He moved to get a closer look. "I bet when the ME opens up these holes he'll find small traces of glass inside each one. But there's no glass anywhere else around his body," he said as he stood and looked around the scene. "I think there's a meta-human who can shoot shards of glass at a high enough velocity to go straight through someone." Joe shook his head.

* * *

When Joe arrived back at the station an hour later, Captain Singh called him into his office. There he saw the DA waiting and two men in suits he didn't recognize. "Detective West," greeted DA Cecille. "This is Jacob Bennet and Mark Summers from the firm Harrison hired." He shook each of their hands. "They tell me his will just entered probate, so they think they'll be able to stop it from going further. Now, I do trust you, Joe, but we will need to do a DNA test to confirm his identity in order for this to work. Typically there would be a hearing and he would go to court to make a proof of life statement. But I know there were a lot of things you can't explain involved and that's why there wasn't a body. I think I'll be able to use the lack of a body in our favor and expedite the process so we can skip the proof of life. After that, I'll give these gentlemen the go ahead, and they'll nullify his death certificate and start returning all Wells's property. Of course, it will be temporary until the DNA is a confirmed match. After that, his custody of his property will become permanent."

Bennet added, "We'll also have some papers he'll need to sign to make everything official, but this should be a rather quick process."

"Alright. I'll contact him as soon as we're done and have him come in. Is that all?"

* * *

The alarm in Caitlin's bedroom was knocked on the floor by Caitlin's tired attempt to silence it. With a groan of frustration, she bent over the bed and turned the alarm off before placing it back on her nightstand. In the other room, Harrison had already been awake for an hour and was sitting on the couch reading the news on Caitlin's computer. Still in her clothes from the previous day, she walked out of her room and noticed a cup of coffee in one of Harrison's hands. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted under her nose. Harrison watched make her way to the kitchen, amused by her current state. "It seems you slept well, Caitlin." She was prevented from responding when his phone rang and instead sent him a playful glare. He returned a smile and pulled the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Joe. Hope I didn't wake you. Is it a good time?"

Harrison raised his eyebrow at Caitlin and mouthed 'Joe'. "It's a great time. What do you need?"

"I wanted to let you know that Captain Singh talked to the DA and she spoke with your lawyers. Apparently your will just went to probate. Since your death was inconclusive because of your body being missing, she was able to have them put a stop to it. As long as you pass a DNA test, under the circumstances they're willing to skip the proof of life court hearing. I'm gonna need you to come in today and sign some papers and get a cheek swab. Then they'll be able to nullify your death certificate and return your keys and passport and stuff like that. And your house will still be yours, as well as STAR Labs. Once the DNA test gets back, your ownership will be permanent again."

"Wow. That's great news, Detective." Caitlin looked over at him, curious to hear what made him so pleased.

"No problem, Doc. And just a heads up, Doctor Stein and I talked. We're gonna take Barry out to lunch in public so he's less likely to run and more likely to hear us out when we tell him. I'll give him the gist of what happened and Stein will do all the scientific explanations. Hopefully that'll be enough for him."

"Good idea, Joe." Caitlin waited for the conversation to finish and questioned him about the good news. He answered, "As it turns out, none of my will has actually been executed yet. They just started the process, and since they never had my body as proof of my death, I just need to show up, sign some paperwork, and do a DNA test to get everything back."

During his retelling of the conversation, Caitlin's smile grew. "That's great news! I'm guessing you'll need a ride to the station then," she ended with an upward inflection.

"I will. But I might also need a ride back afterward, or somewhere else depending on how quickly I get my things back."

"Well, I would lend you my car, but you don't have your license back yet. I could stick with you today to help out. I can let Cisco and Doctor Stein know that I'm helping you, and they can tell Berry I had errands to take care of."

"That would be greatly appreciated." He smiled warmly.

Caitlin texted Cisco the plans they made and finished the remainder of her breakfast and coffee. Her thoughts drifted to the movie she watched last night with Harrison. She didn't remember going to bed and realized he must have carried her to her room after she'd fallen asleep on the couch for the second time in a row. "Hey, did you carry me to bed last night?" She was watching him with an expression of curiosity.

Harrison wondered how she would react, though judging by her reaction the previous morning to having slept on his chest, he expected it wouldn't be negative. "I did." He didn't know what else to say. This could possibly be the last day he spent in her apartment, so such encounters wouldn't be expected any time soon, if ever. But were they appropriate? All his recent actions had been admittedly warm and affectionate, but completely platonic. His desire was only for the amity created through their familiar hardships, but he wasn't ready for anything more, and she certainly couldn't be. After all, Ronnie sacrificed himself only a month ago. Those wounds must have still been fresh.

Even though Harrison appeared to be reading, Caitlin saw that his eyes were unfocused. She considered that he may have been wondering if he was crossing any lines. She wondered that as well. But her intentions were friendly, and she knew his to be as well. However, he probably didn't realize that her pain was no longer that Ronnie was dead, but that she was again left alone. She knew Ronnie was a hero. She had always known. Even though it was painful, it was no surprise when he sacrificed himself once more to save everyone. And in a way, she was prepared for it. "Harrison, can we talk for a second?"

Having been drawn out of his trance, he turned to Caitlin. "Sure. What's up?"

Having rehearsed this in her mind many times, Caitlin said, "I'm a little baffled myself by this, but I think I'm at peace with the fact that Ronnie is gone. At this point, I think what hurts more is that he left me alone again. And I'm saying this because I don't want you to think I'm uncomfortable with our friendship. I appreciate that you care for me and I would love to continue to be your friend." When his expression remained impassive, she wondered if that declaration was completely out of place. She nervously added, "I don't know if that was something you needed to hear, or-"

"No, Caitlin. That was." He stopped short and turned to look at her, piercing her with his blue eyes. "I wasn't sure if you were uncomfortable with these past couple days, considering everything. I think I did need to hear that. And I'm eager to grow in our friendship as well." He smiled and turned back to his computer. Caitlin reciprocated with a smile and went to her room to get dressed.

* * *

Caitlin parked the car in the visitor's lot at the Police station. She looked to Harrison. "Are you ready to get your life back?"

He smirked. "Something like that."

When they entered the building and retrieved their visitor passes, Caitlin followed Harrison to meet Joe at the mural. He was leaning against the wall, already waiting for them. "Caitlin, didn't expect to see you. How are you?" He pushed off the wall pulled her into a welcoming hug.

When they pulled apart, Caitlin beamed. "I'm doing pretty well, Joe."

Harrison watched the welcome and couldn't stop himself grinning at the smile on Caitlin's face. "Caitlin was kind enough to be my transport, since I don't currently have a license. Is it alright if she stays while I'm doing everything?"

Caitlin looked from Harrison to Joe. "Absolutely. Actually, why I don't take you across the street for coffee while he does his thing?" he proffered to Caitlin. She held her arm out in response. Joe wrapped his arm around hers and directed to Harrison, "They're waiting for you up in Captain Singh's office. It shouldn't take too long." Harrison nodded.

A couple hours later, Harrison was walking down the street to meet with Caitlin and Joe. They had talked over coffee for an hour before deciding to take a walk or two around the block. Harrison had the keys to his house and van in his front left pocket and his documents and license in a yellow envelope. The streets were flooded from lunch hour, so Caitlin and Harrison gave their thanks and farewells and made their way back to her car.

In the quiet of Caitlin's car, they each took a deep breath. They looked at each other, Caitlin feeling there was something to be said and Harrison wondering how to say it. "So, Cait. I was doing some thinking during my down time in the last few hours. I think I need to make a change. My life as it currently is- my clothes, my home, my van, my face- they all have Eobard Thawne written all over them. I don't want that. I don't want to be constantly reminded of how much he ruined all our lives, especially my own. I want to look in the mirror and not see a murderer, but see myself. A new me." He knew speaking his next thoughts would be solidifying his plans and mentally prepared himself for that leap. "I'm going to get rid of all my things and start new. I'll sell my house. I'll donate my car and all my things. I'll buy a new wardrobe and change how I look so that I can change how I look at myself. I don't wanna be trapped anymore, Caitlin."

After having looked away from her as his speech got heavier, he then looked back at her face. He couldn't recognize what she was feeling, but then the smallest smile adorned her lips. "How can I help, Harrison?"

* * *

Caitlin and Harrison finished packing the kitchen and office with relative ease. Eobard didn't keep many belongings. But when they walked to Harrison's bedroom closet, his hand paused on the doors. "This is where he kept all my things. I remember him trying very hard not to think about my memories. But he couldn't make himself throw anything away. As much as he didn't want them to, my memories overwhelmed him sometimes. Mostly, it was my panic after the car accident. Because he killed her, the memories I held of Tess no longer brought joy. They ripped his heart open." His hands were still on the handles, but he wasn't ready to pull them open just yet. Caitlin's hand found his shoulder. "There are pictures of my wedding that he would pull out some nights. Not often. Those nights only happened once or twice a year. But now that these memories are my own again, it's like I haven't experienced them before. They're like fresh wounds, and opening this closet is adding salt to them."

Caitlin's hand transitioned from his shoulder to wrap around his torso, her other arm following suit. "Harrison, I'm here to help you. We can go as slow or as fast as you need. I'm here." He turned in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her. She heard a quiet sniffle from above her and leaned back to look up at him. "I'm here," she said again. He stared pensively into her eyes for a while before loosening his grip to wipe the tears that had fallen from his cheeks.

"Thank you, Caitlin." He pulled the top of her head to his lips in a thankful kiss, and pulled back to say, "Why don't we get started then?"

They poured over his pictures and objects of sentiment for a half hour before they finished. He'd shared stories from some of the pictures they came across. But when he came across the napkin, the napkin from that day long ago on the beach where he and Tess started planning their dreams for the future, he sobered. He was resolute to not let Eobard take a day more from him. His new life started now.

* * *

Across the city from Harrison's revelatory experience, Barry sat apprehensively across the table from Doctor Stein and his adoptive father. "So…when are you guys gonna tell me why I'm here? I get the feeling this isn't some innocent lunch date."

The two older men looked at one another, silently deciding who would speak first. "Son, we have something to tell you, and we need you to listen to everything we tell you before you do anything. Is that understood?" His question was somewhat forceful which communicated to Barry that there was some level of severity to what they were about to say. Joe opened and shut his mouth a couple times not knowing where to begin, so Doctor Stein took over for him.

Seriously, he turned to Barry and clasped his hands together on the table. "Barry, when Eddie opened up the singularity by creating a paradox, you watched with your own eyes as Eobard fell to pieces and was erased from existence. But being so close to the singularity, and with the fact that time travel played a part in his existence, the parts of his body that previously belonged to Harrison Wells entered the singularity and were spit back out, in a way repairing what Eobard had done. Those parts of Harrison's body were released into the last place they had existed in time, thereby reforming Harrison Wells on the road where he died. This all happened almost instantaneously."

Barry's eyes grew more suspicious as he followed along with the Professor's logic. "Are you saying that a month ago, Harrison Wells came back to life?"

"Yes, Barry. That's exactly what happened. But there's more to it. He came back through dark matter. Dark matter which retained, along with Harrison's cells, cells containing the memories of Eobard Thawne. Doctor Wells can remember everything that Eobard experienced while in his body."

Barry threw his hands up in shock. "Wait, wait. You guys are saying this like you know for sure. Like you already met him. But if he has his memories, how would you know he's not pretending? How could you trust him?" He was appalled that they would be so quick to trust the man that killed his mother and left his father permanently in prison. Not to mention his numerous other crimes.

Joe decided to intervene before Barry's emotions gained control of him. "Barry, we ran all kinds of tests. If you go to the lab, I'm sure they could all show them to you and explain it in more detail."

"Hold up- more than you two know about this? How many other people know? Why am I the last one to know that my arch enemy is back from the dead? How long has everyone been keeping this from me?" He stood up in a fit. "You know what, I don't even care. This is messed up. I'm out." They couldn't stop him from disappearing right under their noses. They only hoped that he didn't do anything rash.

* * *

"Well, I think we've got everything worth donating packed into the van, everything worth keeping in your car, and everything else in the trash bin. Caitlin, I didn't tell you my exact plans earlier, but I'm going to leave town tonight and take care of some things. I'm going to say my goodbyes and make peace with my past so I can move forward with a clean slate. My phone will be off until I get back tomorrow afternoon. My goal is 5 in the afternoon. If I don't call you by then, you call me. My phone will be on."

"Okay. Are you sure about this, Harrison?" The sun shone through the window into the living room where they stood, spilling on Caitlin's face.

He smiled down at her. "I've never been more ready. Thanks so much for your help today. I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully a changed man."

Caitlin said nothing. Instead, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek before turning around and waving. When she left for the lab, Harrison sighed deeply and looked around his now empty house.

* * *

Barry was sitting on the rooftop of Jitters when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Cisco. He was in no mood to talk to anyone who kept secrets from him, but they still had a meta-human on the loose and it could be important. "Yeah, It's Barry."

"Barry, you've gotta suit up and fast. There's some manic at the movie theatre calling you out and he's got a whole room of hostages."

Barry jumped up, ready to run. "Do we know who he is or what he wants?"

"No, but I-" The line went dead as Barry hung up and raced to put on his suit. On the way to the theatre, he popped out his earpieces. He didn't want any input today. The Flash was on his own.

When he got to the theatre, he took a moment to observe his surroundings and determine where the hostages were being held. He raced to theatre 6 and burst open the door, quickly scanning the room. There was a poorly dressed, unshaven man in the center, with the witnesses surrounding him inside a misshapen circle. "Who are you and what do you want?" Barry shouted.

"I wanna watch you try to save everyone in this room, Flash." The man snarled.

Barry whispered, "Oh crap, meta-human. And I'm flying blind. What's he gonna do?"

He watched as pieces of glass started pouring out of the man's hands as he spun in place. Thinking fast, he raced to each person in the circle, dropping them just outside the theatre before rounding back on the meta-human. Barry made a bee-line toward him and landed a punch to the man's gut. Then he rounded back on him, chased by more shards of glass pouring out of the meta's hands, following him everywhere he ran. Once again, he landed a punch, this time on his face. The meta-human released a fierce shout and poured everything he had just in front of where Barry was running.

Barry cried out in pain as small shards of glass pierced every part of his body on the right side. He hadn't been paying close enough attention and let his anger become a distraction. He could feel pieces of glass moving around in his gut and knew that was a bad sign. With all the hostages free of danger, he raced back to the lab and passed out moments after reaching the cortex.

* * *

"Caitlin!" Cisco shouted. "Barry's bleeding bad and he's unconscious. Run!" He knew she would hear him from the medical wing. Why did Barry have to go in blind? "Dammit, Barry! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Caitlin rushed into the cortex. "Crap, we don't have a stretcher to put him on. Pick him up under his arms and try not to shift his torso at all. I'll get his legs." She stepped between his legs and lifted from each of his thighs. Barry cried out in pain. She took it as a good sign that he could still emit any sounds. "Careful around the corner, Cisco," she warned. Their movement earned them another cry from Barry.

After they lifted him to the table, Cisco helped her remove his suit so she could access everywhere she saw bleeding. "Judging by the depth and shape of the wounds, I would say he got these from the guy that shoots glass."

"Shatter!" Cisco shouted. "Sorry," he amended upon realizing his completely inappropriate timing for naming bad guys.

"Good news is, these don't look too far in. Bad news is, they'll be hard to remove. Especially considering Barry's body is already trying to heal around the pieces." Barry started writhing and growling in pain. "We don't have an anesthetic or sedative that'll work, Barry. I'm so sorry, but we need to get these out, now."

"Just do it," he whimpered in between shouts.

Ten minutes later, Barry was whimpering still, though not as loudly. All the shards had been removed from his body and Caitlin was now applying ointment and bandages to his wounds. They started from below his knee all the way up to his chest. Once finished, she left Barry to himself to heal and joined Cisco in the cortex. She'd just taken a breather when Cisco whispered, "Oh man. More bad news."

Caitlin looked at his screen and read the ticker as he turned on the volume. "Headline News: Central City Pariah Alive and Walking". A woman started speaking. "An anonymous source came forward reporting a sighting of the infamous Doctor Harrison Wells, the well-known physicist who caused a devastating explosion a year and a half ago here in Central City. Formerly disclosed to be wheelchair-bound for life, he was seen leaving Star City General Hospital with former colleague Cisco Ramon. According to our source, Wells was hospitalized for a month after being suspected dead since the unexplained….." The sound cut off as Caitlin suddenly shut off the monitor.

* * *

Doctor Christina McGee sat in her office at Mercury labs after just finishing a meeting with the CFO. She was reading the local news when she saw a face in the headline that she recognized. "Headline News: Central City Pariah Alive and Walking".

"That can't be right…"

* * *

An hour after Barry fell into the cortex, he walked back into the room dressed in a STAR Labs sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. He turned to look at them and spoke before they could say anything.

"Guys, that was so stupid of me. I shouldn't have gone in like that without your help. It's just, Joe and Doctor Stein just told me about Doctor Wells supposedly being back. I was and still am upset that all of you have known this for however long and didn't tell me. I thought we trusted each other. I thought we don't keep secrets anymore."

Caitlin looked downcast, but Cisco was quick to defend. "Barry, this is only his third day in town. Monday morning I was in Star City. I'd gotten an alert the night before that someone by his name was in a hospital there and I had to check it out before I put either of you guys through that. Monday night I told Caitlin his story and he stayed with her while we waited to do tests." Barry's eyes widened as he looked to Caitlin. "He didn't have any identity or anything when he was recreated, and no place to sleep. And we trusted him, but we didn't know why. Same with Joe that night and Doctor Stein the next day when we told them about it. We ran all kinds of tests to make sure it's him and it is Barry. We wanted to be sure before we told you. Out of all of us, we knew it would hit you the hardest."

Barry wanted so much to be angry at them for keeping this from him, but he knew their reasoning was sound and their hearts were in the right place. "Guys, I'm still really upset about this. But I know you meant well. Maybe show me the tests later so I can find out more about it. You can tell me exactly how it happened." He left the room to contemplate.


	4. Chapter 4

Barry woke to the sound of his phone ringing. Groggy, he pressed ‘answer’ and lifted it to his face. “Yeah? It’s Barry.” On the other end of the line his adoptive father was telling him there was a murder just outside of town they needed to investigate. Sighing in discontent at being awoken at 4 in the morning, lightning followed him as he dressed and raced to a quarter mile from the murder scene. He walked the rest of the way. Joe was crouched next to the body, and a couple officers from CCPD were taking notes and talking about the scene. “Hey Joe.” Barry’s voice was still deep from sleeping.

“Hey, Barry. Look at this and tell me what you think.” Joe noticed there were strange holes all over the man’s torso and face, but there was no clue as to what caused them. He watched Barry don a pair of gloves and kneeled to inspect the man more closely.

“Well, there are holes all over his body. Judging by the blood underneath him, I would say they go all the way through to the back. There are a couple small fragments of glass on his shirt.” He moved to get a closer look. “I bet when the ME opens up these holes he’ll find small traces of glass inside each one. But there’s no glass anywhere else around his body,” he said as he stood and looked around the scene. “I think there’s a meta-human who can shoot shards of glass at a high enough velocity to go straight through someone.” Joe shook his head.

* * *

When Joe arrived back at the station an hour later, Captain Singh called him into his office. There he saw the DA waiting and two men in suits he didn’t recognize. “Detective West,” greeted DA Cecille. “This is Jacob Bennet and Mark Summers from the firm Harrison hired.” He shook each of their hands. “They tell me his will just entered probate, so they think they’ll be able to stop it from going further. Now, I do trust you, Joe, but we will need to do a DNA test to confirm his identity in order for this to work. Typically there would be a hearing and he would go to court to make a proof of life statement. But I know there were a lot of things you can’t explain involved and that’s why there wasn’t a body. I think I’ll be able to use the lack of a body in our favor and expedite the process so we can skip the proof of life. After that, I’ll give these gentlemen the go ahead, and they’ll nullify his death certificate and start returning all Wells’s property. Of course, it will be temporary until the DNA is a confirmed match. After that, his custody of his property will become permanent.”

Bennet added, “We’ll also have some papers he’ll need to sign to make everything official, but this should be a rather quick process.”

“Alright. I’ll contact him as soon as we’re done and have him come in. Is that all?”

* * *

The alarm in Caitlin’s bedroom was knocked on the floor by Caitlin’s tired attempt to silence it. With a groan of frustration, she bent over the bed and turned the alarm off before placing it back on her nightstand. In the other room, Harrison had already been awake for an hour and was sitting on the couch reading the news on Caitlin’s computer. Still in her clothes from the previous day, she walked out of her room and noticed a cup of coffee in one of Harrison’s hands. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted under her nose. Harrison watched make her way to the kitchen, amused by her current state. “It seems you slept well, Caitlin.” She was prevented from responding when his phone rang and instead sent him a playful glare. He returned a smile and pulled the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Joe. Hope I didn’t wake you. Is it a good time?”

Harrison raised his eyebrow at Caitlin and mouthed ‘Joe’. “It’s a great time. What do you need?”

“I wanted to let you know that Captain Singh talked to the DA and she spoke with your lawyers. Apparently your will just went to probate. Since your death was inconclusive because of your body being missing, she was able to have them put a stop to it. As long as you pass a DNA test, under the circumstances they’re willing to skip the proof of life court hearing. I’m gonna need you to come in today and sign some papers and get a cheek swab. Then they’ll be able to nullify your death certificate and return your keys and passport and stuff like that. And your house will still be yours, as well as STAR Labs. Once the DNA test gets back, your ownership will be permanent again.”

“Wow. That’s great news, Detective.” Caitlin looked over at him, curious to hear what made him so pleased.

“No problem, Doc. And just a heads up, Doctor Stein and I talked. We’re gonna take Barry out to lunch in public so he’s less likely to run and more likely to hear us out when we tell him. I’ll give him the gist of what happened and Stein will do all the scientific explanations. Hopefully that’ll be enough for him.”

“Good idea, Joe.” Caitlin waited for the conversation to finish and questioned him about the good news. He answered, “As it turns out, none of my will has actually been executed yet. They just started the process, and since they never had my body as proof of my death, I just need to show up, sign some paperwork, and do a DNA test to get everything back.”

During his retelling of the conversation, Caitlin’s smile grew. “That’s great news! I’m guessing you’ll need a ride to the station then,” she ended with an upward inflection.

“I will. But I might also need a ride back afterward, or somewhere else depending on how quickly I get my things back.”

“Well, I would lend you my car, but you don’t have your license back yet. I could stick with you today to help out. I can let Cisco and Doctor Stein know that I’m helping you, and they can tell Berry I had errands to take care of.”

“That would be greatly appreciated.” He smiled warmly.

Caitlin texted Cisco the plans they made and finished the remainder of her breakfast and coffee. Her thoughts drifted to the movie she watched last night with Harrison. She didn’t remember going to bed and realized he must have carried her to her room after she’d fallen asleep on the couch for the second time in a row. “Hey, did you carry me to bed last night?” She was watching him with an expression of curiosity.

Harrison wondered how she would react, though judging by her reaction the previous morning to having slept on his chest, he expected it wouldn’t be negative. “I did.” He didn’t know what else to say. This could possibly be the last day he spent in her apartment, so such encounters wouldn’t be expected any time soon, if ever. But were they appropriate? All his recent actions had been admittedly warm and affectionate, but completely platonic. His desire was only for the amity created through their familiar hardships, but he wasn’t ready for anything more, and she certainly couldn’t be. After all, Ronnie sacrificed himself only a month ago. Those wounds must have still been fresh.

Even though Harrison appeared to be reading, Caitlin saw that his eyes were unfocused. She considered that he may have been wondering if he was crossing any lines. She wondered that as well. But her intentions were friendly, and she knew his to be as well. However, he probably didn’t realize that her pain was no longer that Ronnie was dead, but that she was again left alone. She knew Ronnie was a hero. She had always known. Even though it was painful, it was no surprise when he sacrificed himself once more to save everyone. And in a way, she was prepared for it. “Harrison, can we talk for a second?”

Having been drawn out of his trance, he turned to Caitlin. “Sure. What’s up?”

Having rehearsed this in her mind many times, Caitlin said, “I’m a little baffled myself by this, but I think I’m at peace with the fact that Ronnie is gone. At this point, I think what hurts more is that he left me alone again. And I’m saying this because I don’t want you to think I’m uncomfortable with our friendship. I appreciate that you care for me and I would love to continue to be your friend.” When his expression remained impassive, she wondered if that declaration was completely out of place. She nervously added, “I don’t know if that was something you needed to hear, or-“

“No, Caitlin. That was.” He stopped short and turned to look at her, piercing her with his blue eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you were uncomfortable with these past couple days, considering everything. I think I did need to hear that. And I’m eager to grow in our friendship as well.” He smiled and turned back to his computer. Caitlin reciprocated with a smile and went to her room to get dressed.

* * *

Caitlin parked the car in the visitor’s lot at the Police station. She looked to Harrison. “Are you ready to get your life back?”

He smirked. “Something like that.”

When they entered the building and retrieved their visitor passes, Caitlin followed Harrison to meet Joe at the mural. He was leaning against the wall, already waiting for them. “Caitlin, didn’t expect to see you. How are you?” He pushed off the wall pulled her into a welcoming hug.

When they pulled apart, Caitlin beamed. “I’m doing pretty well, Joe.”

Harrison watched the welcome and couldn’t stop himself grinning at the smile on Caitlin’s face. “Caitlin was kind enough to be my transport, since I don’t currently have a license. Is it alright if she stays while I’m doing everything?”

Caitlin looked from Harrison to Joe. “Absolutely. Actually, why I don’t take you across the street for coffee while he does his thing?” he proffered to Caitlin. She held her arm out in response. Joe wrapped his arm around hers and directed to Harrison, “They’re waiting for you up in Captain Singh’s office. It shouldn’t take too long.” Harrison nodded.

A couple hours later, Harrison was walking down the street to meet with Caitlin and Joe. They had talked over coffee for an hour before deciding to take a walk or two around the block. Harrison had the keys to his house and van in his front left pocket and his documents and license in a yellow envelope. The streets were flooded from lunch hour, so Caitlin and Harrison gave their thanks and farewells and made their way back to her car.

In the quiet of Caitlin’s car, they each took a deep breath. They looked at each other, Caitlin feeling there was something to be said and Harrison wondering how to say it. “So, Cait. I was doing some thinking during my down time in the last few hours. I think I need to make a change. My life as it currently is- my clothes, my home, my van, my face- they all have Eobard Thawne written all over them. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be constantly reminded of how much he ruined all our lives, especially my own. I want to look in the mirror and not see a murderer, but see myself. A new me.” He knew speaking his next thoughts would be solidifying his plans and mentally prepared himself for that leap. “I’m going to get rid of all my things and start new. I’ll sell my house. I’ll donate my car and all my things. I’ll buy a new wardrobe and change how I look so that I can change how I look at myself. I don’t wanna be trapped anymore, Caitlin.”

After having looked away from her as his speech got heavier, he then looked back at her face. He couldn’t recognize what she was feeling, but then the smallest smile adorned her lips. “How can I help, Harrison?”

* * *

Caitlin and Harrison finished packing the kitchen and office with relative ease. Eobard didn’t keep many belongings. But when they walked to Harrison’s bedroom closet, his hand paused on the doors. “This is where he kept all my things. I remember him trying very hard not to think about my memories. But he couldn’t make himself throw anything away. As much as he didn’t want them to, my memories overwhelmed him sometimes. Mostly, it was my panic after the car accident. Because he killed her, the memories I held of Tess no longer brought joy. They ripped his heart open.” His hands were still on the handles, but he wasn’t ready to pull them open just yet. Caitlin’s hand found his shoulder. “There are pictures of my wedding that he would pull out some nights. Not often. Those nights only happened once or twice a year. But now that these memories are my own again, it’s like I haven’t experienced them before. They’re like fresh wounds, and opening this closet is adding salt to them.”

Caitlin’s hand transitioned from his shoulder to wrap around his torso, her other arm following suit. “Harrison, I’m here to help you. We can go as slow or as fast as you need. I’m here.” He turned in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her. She heard a quiet sniffle from above her and leaned back to look up at him. “I’m here,” she said again. He stared pensively into her eyes for a while before loosening his grip to wipe the tears that had fallen from his cheeks.

“Thank you, Caitlin.” He pulled the top of her head to his lips in a thankful kiss, and pulled back to say, “Why don’t we get started then?”

They poured over his pictures and objects of sentiment for a half hour before they finished. He’d shared stories from some of the pictures they came across. But when he came across the napkin, the napkin from that day long ago on the beach where he and Tess started planning their dreams for the future, he sobered. He was resolute to not let Eobard take a day more from him. His new life started now.

* * *

Across the city from Harrison’s revelatory experience, Barry sat apprehensively across the table from Doctor Stein and his adoptive father. “So…when are you guys gonna tell me why I’m here? I get the feeling this isn’t some innocent lunch date.”

The two older men looked at one another, silently deciding who would speak first. “Son, we have something to tell you, and we need you to listen to everything we tell you before you do anything. Is that understood?” His question was somewhat forceful which communicated to Barry that there was some level of severity to what they were about to say. Joe opened and shut his mouth a couple times not knowing where to begin, so Doctor Stein took over for him.

Seriously, he turned to Barry and clasped his hands together on the table. “Barry, when Eddie opened up the singularity by creating a paradox, you watched with your own eyes as Eobard fell to pieces and was erased from existence. But being so close to the singularity, and with the fact that time travel played a part in his existence, the parts of his body that previously belonged to Harrison Wells entered the singularity and were spit back out, in a way repairing what Eobard had done. Those parts of Harrison’s body were released into the last place they had existed in time, thereby reforming Harrison Wells on the road where he died. This all happened almost instantaneously.”

Barry’s eyes grew more suspicious as he followed along with the Professor’s logic. “Are you saying that a month ago, Harrison Wells came back to life?”

“Yes, Barry. That’s exactly what happened. But there’s more to it. He came back through dark matter. Dark matter which retained, along with Harrison’s cells, cells containing the memories of Eobard Thawne. Doctor Wells can remember everything that Eobard experienced while in his body.”

Barry threw his hands up in shock. “Wait, wait. You guys are saying this like you know for sure. Like you already met him. But if he has his memories, how would you know he’s not pretending? How could you trust him?” He was appalled that they would be so quick to trust the man that killed his mother and left his father permanently in prison. Not to mention his numerous other crimes.

Joe decided to intervene before Barry’s emotions gained control of him. “Barry, we ran all kinds of tests. If you go to the lab, I’m sure they could all show them to you and explain it in more detail.”

“Hold up- more than you two know about this? How many other people know? Why am I the last one to know that my arch enemy is back from the dead? How long has everyone been keeping this from me?” He stood up in a fit. “You know what, I don’t even care. This is messed up. I’m out.” They couldn’t stop him from disappearing right under their noses. They only hoped that he didn’t do anything rash.

* * *

“Well, I think we’ve got everything worth donating packed into the van, everything worth keeping in your car, and everything else in the trash bin. Caitlin, I didn’t tell you my exact plans earlier, but I’m going to leave town tonight and take care of some things. I’m going to say my goodbyes and make peace with my past so I can move forward with a clean slate. My phone will be off until I get back tomorrow afternoon. My goal is 5 in the afternoon. If I don’t call you by then, you call me. My phone will be on.”

“Okay. Are you sure about this, Harrison?” The sun shone through the window into the living room where they stood, spilling on Caitlin’s face.

He smiled down at her. “I’ve never been more ready. Thanks so much for your help today. I’ll be back tomorrow, hopefully a changed man.”

Caitlin said nothing. Instead, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek before turning around and waving. When she left for the lab, Harrison sighed deeply and looked around his now empty house.

* * *

Barry was sitting on the rooftop of Jitters when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Cisco. He was in no mood to talk to anyone who kept secrets from him, but they still had a meta-human on the loose and it could be important. “Yeah, It’s Barry.”

“Barry, you’ve gotta suit up and fast. There’s some manic at the movie theatre calling you out and he’s got a whole room of hostages.”

Barry jumped up, ready to run. “Do we know who he is or what he wants?”

“No, but I-“ The line went dead as Barry hung up and raced to put on his suit. On the way to the theatre, he popped out his earpieces. He didn’t want any input today. The Flash was on his own.

When he got to the theatre, he took a moment to observe his surroundings and determine where the hostages were being held. He raced to theatre 6 and burst open the door, quickly scanning the room. There was a poorly dressed, unshaven man in the center, with the witnesses surrounding him inside a misshapen circle. “Who are you and what do you want?” Barry shouted.

“I wanna watch you try to save everyone in this room, Flash.” The man snarled.

Barry whispered, “Oh crap, meta-human. And I’m flying blind. What’s he gonna do?”

He watched as pieces of glass started pouring out of the man’s hands as he spun in place. Thinking fast, he raced to each person in the circle, dropping them just outside the theatre before rounding back on the meta-human. Barry made a bee-line toward him and landed a punch to the man’s gut. Then he rounded back on him, chased by more shards of glass pouring out of the meta’s hands, following him everywhere he ran. Once again, he landed a punch, this time on his face. The meta-human released a fierce shout and poured everything he had just in front of where Barry was running.

Barry cried out in pain as small shards of glass pierced every part of his body on the right side. He hadn’t been paying close enough attention and let his anger become a distraction. He could feel pieces of glass moving around in his gut and knew that was a bad sign. With all the hostages free of danger, he raced back to the lab and passed out moments after reaching the cortex.

* * *

“Caitlin!” Cisco shouted. “Barry’s bleeding bad and he’s unconscious. Run!” He knew she would hear him from the medical wing. Why did Barry have to go in blind? “Dammit, Barry! You could have gotten yourself killed!”

Caitlin rushed into the cortex. “Crap, we don’t have a stretcher to put him on. Pick him up under his arms and try not to shift his torso at all. I’ll get his legs.” She stepped between his legs and lifted from each of his thighs. Barry cried out in pain. She took it as a good sign that he could still emit any sounds. “Careful around the corner, Cisco,” she warned. Their movement earned them another cry from Barry.

After they lifted him to the table, Cisco helped her remove his suit so she could access everywhere she saw bleeding. “Judging by the depth and shape of the wounds, I would say he got these from the guy that shoots glass.”

“Shatter!” Cisco shouted. “Sorry,” he amended upon realizing his completely inappropriate timing for naming bad guys.

“Good news is, these don’t look too far in. Bad news is, they’ll be hard to remove. Especially considering Barry’s body is already trying to heal around the pieces.” Barry started writhing and growling in pain. “We don’t have an anesthetic or sedative that’ll work, Barry. I’m so sorry, but we need to get these out, now.”

“Just do it,” he whimpered in between shouts.

Ten minutes later, Barry was whimpering still, though not as loudly. All the shards had been removed from his body and Caitlin was now applying ointment and bandages to his wounds. They started from below his knee all the way up to his chest. Once finished, she left Barry to himself to heal and joined Cisco in the cortex. She’d just taken a breather when Cisco whispered, “Oh man. More bad news.”

Caitlin looked at his screen and read the ticker as he turned on the volume. “Headline News: Central City Pariah Alive and Walking”. A woman started speaking. “An anonymous source came forward reporting a sighting of the infamous Doctor Harrison Wells, the well-known physicist who caused a devastating explosion a year and a half ago here in Central City. Formerly disclosed to be wheelchair-bound for life, he was seen leaving Star City General Hospital with former colleague Cisco Ramon. According to our source, Wells was hospitalized for a month after being suspected dead since the unexplained…..” The sound cut off as Caitlin suddenly shut off the monitor.

* * *

Doctor Christina McGee sat in her office at Mercury labs after just finishing a meeting with the CFO. She was reading the local news when she saw a face in the headline that she recognized. “Headline News: Central City Pariah Alive and Walking”.

“That can’t be right…”

* * *

An hour after Barry fell into the cortex, he walked back into the room dressed in a STAR Labs sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. He turned to look at them and spoke before they could say anything.

“Guys, that was so stupid of me. I shouldn’t have gone in like that without your help. It’s just, Joe and Doctor Stein just told me about Doctor Wells supposedly being back. I was and still am upset that all of you have known this for however long and didn’t tell me. I thought we trusted each other. I thought we don’t keep secrets anymore.”

Caitlin looked downcast, but Cisco was quick to defend. “Barry, this is only his third day in town. Monday morning I was in Star City. I’d gotten an alert the night before that someone by his name was in a hospital there and I had to check it out before I put either of you guys through that. Monday night I told Caitlin his story and he stayed with her while we waited to do tests.” Barry’s eyes widened as he looked to Caitlin. “He didn’t have any identity or anything when he was recreated, and no place to sleep. And we trusted him, but we didn’t know why. Same with Joe that night and Doctor Stein the next day when we told them about it. We ran all kinds of tests to make sure it’s him and it is Barry. We wanted to be sure before we told you. Out of all of us, we knew it would hit you the hardest.”

Barry wanted so much to be angry at them for keeping this from him, but he knew their reasoning was sound and their hearts were in the right place. “Guys, I’m still really upset about this. But I know you meant well. Maybe show me the tests later so I can find out more about it. You can tell me exactly how it happened.” He left the room to contemplate.


	5. Chapter 5

The hair on top of Harrison’s head was still his usual long mess, and on the sides and back he requested a tight high fade. The barber cheekily told him this was called a skin fade undercut and was apparently becoming popular. It was definitely a new look, but the idea had grown on Harrison. He also decided he would let his beard grow into a 5 o’clock shadow. No more, no less. “Definitely a new look…” he murmured to himself before smiling and handing the mirror back to the stylist. “Exactly what I wanted, Louis. Thank you very much.” He was definitely pleased. 

Harrison had already paid a visit to a new optometrist, not wanting to explain his sudden lack of paralysis to the old one and was wearing a trial pair of contacts. It wasn’t the first time he’d worn them, but it was still something to get used to. Even though Eobard didn’t need glasses and never wore them in the privacy of his home, they were still something he was known for. They were a part of the past he wanted to separate himself from. If he wanted a new life, he needed a completely new look. The last step to his physical makeover would be purchasing a new wardrobe. He’d kept all the suits that were in his closet, but put all the rest of his clothing in the back of the van to be donated. Before Eobard ever interfered Harrison had been a man of style.

After spending a couple hours in the mall, his new signature style had become a pair of fold down boots, dark fitted jeans, and a V-neck tee, only tucked behind his belt buckle. He also purchased a steel grey slouch beanie, a scarf, a few long sleeve button-ups, a vest, and two more pairs of boots. It didn’t hurt to buy new undergarments as well, so he stopped in at Calvin Klein for new briefs and undershirts before leaving.

Once he’d packed all his bags into the van, Harrison turned around and leaned his back against the door, resting his head against the window. He closed his eyes to the stars and lost himself in his thoughts. He’d been drowning in the recesses of his past since the moment he woke up a week ago, and his unresolved emotional ties bound him from escaping. He had made drastic changes already today, but he wasn’t done yet. It was kind of a rush, to be able to start completely anew, to become someone new. And he would take advantage of it. He pondered starting a new hobby or two. Maybe he could get in shape. But he was resolute on doing one thing- Harrison Wells would move forward. He would let go of the past, for good. Tess would hate to see him hung up on her death. She loved that he was passionate and forward-thinking. And if only to honor her life, he would become what she loved once more.

* * *

 

Across the city, Caitlin, Cisco, Barry, and now Doctor Stein were all standing in the cortex discussing how they might catch the newly named  Shredder, who had so far killed only killed one man with shards of glass. Invisible Edge was also considered as a moniker, but Cisco promptly decided that was a lame nickname. It seemed pretty straightforward to have Barry sneak attack him, but last time he tried the simple approach, he came back to the lab covered in blood.

Cisco noticed Barry’s expression suddenly change as if he had thought of something. “Dude, what is it? Did you think of something?”

He raised his eyes to everyone with a confounded look. “I think I remember something.” He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, growing more sure of his memory. “When the glass shot out of his hands, it wasn’t a shard at first. But by the time it hit anyone, it was very jagged and sharp. I think when the glass comes out of his hands it’s molten.”

Doctor Stein was pensive. “I think we can work with that. If it’s molten, your suit should be able to withstand the heat of the glass while it was still in liquid form, if necessary. So if you get close enough to him, he shouldn’t be able to harm you, allowing you to overtake him more easily.”

Caitlin joined in. “But we have no idea where he is. Even if Barry could beat him this time, we won’t know where he is until the next time he kills.”

“Not necessarily true,” Cisco added, with his index finger raised to make a point. “He sought you out, Barry. Meaning he wants a fight with you. So maybe you should call him out this time.”

Barry looked down, contemplating the idea. Doctor Stein agreed, “Yes, that’s a good idea Cisco. We could invite some of the press to somewhere in the city people won’t get hurt and Barry could make an announcement telling the Shredder where to meet him. That also gives you a home field advantage, Barry.” 

“It’s dangerous, Barry,” Caitlin reminded. “Make sure this time you aren’t distracted. Watch him like a hawk. I don’t want you to come to me covered head to toe in blood again.” Barry recognized the concern Caitlin was displaying. 

He smiled. “I’ll be safe, Caitlin.”

She smiled briefly before turning around and heading to Harrison’s old office. Barry had been seriously hurt earlier, and in addition to that Caitlin wondered how Harrison was doing. She wanted to check up on him to make sure he was okay and tell him about what happened with Barry, but she knew his phone was off. Even if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to detract from his experience. He needed this.

* * *

 

The long drive to Star City overnight was worth it. Here he planned to hopefully overcome his greatest hurt. Dawn on the beach was absolutely idyllic. Harrison was wandering slowly along the shoreline watching the water dance over his feet. His beanie protected his head from the cool ocean breeze and he carried his boots under one arm. A storm of emotions brewed inside him. “Oh, Tess,” he lamented softly, biting his lower lip as he shook his head and pinched his eyes shut. “I loved you so much! I loved the twinkle in your eyes when you looked at me. I loved the way you laughed when I didn’t even know what I did that was so funny. I loved how you would let me barge forward in a new project even though you could have done it ten times faster. Tess, you meant the world to me.” His voice broke and tears fell to his cheeks giving him pause.“You kept me together when I fell apart.”

Moments later, he took in a ragged breath and looked to the horizon. “You taught me to dream big and keep moving past any obstacle that came my way. You supported me in everything I did. And now I need you to help me move on. Because I can’t do it, Tess. I can’t let you go.” A sob finally broke out and he covered his mouth, tears falling freely from his eyes. “How can I go on without you?” he wailed. 

With his free hand, he pulled a picture from his back pocket. He’d taken it from one of his boxes before he left. It was a picture of a kiss they shared on their third date, taken by their friend Tina McGee.  He brushed his thumb across her face on the picture. He whispered, “What I wouldn’t give to kiss you one more time.” He brought the photograph to his lips, closing his eyes.

He turned to the beach and walked just shy of the wet sand to take a seat, facing the horizon once more. He propped up the picture in the sand between his outstretched legs and looked up from it to the colorful dawn.  “You would love the view right now, Tess,” he said, his voice solid once more. “I will always love you. I know that I have to move on. And I will. As soon as I leave this beach, I will move on. But every time I come here, I will remember you.” 

The beach started warming up as the day approached. Harrison stood up and wiped the sand off his jeans, pocketing the photo. He filled his lungs with the fresh ocean air and released it in a sigh. “Goodbye, Tess,” he concluded, and turned his back to the shore.

* * *

 

Barry had updated Joe and Iris the previous night about the idea the team formed. Iris agreed to get a couple people she knew from the press involved. They decided on an abandoned lot next to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Barry would call out the the Shredder on the local news station and wait inside the warehouse for the man to show up.

That morning, the plan was set in motion. The news crew set up in the center of the lot, ready to pack up and leave the moment they were finished. Barry stood in front of the camera in his suit and made his speech. “I know you want to fight me. You killed an innocent man and took many more innocent people hostage just to get to me. So I’m going to give you what you want. Meet me at the lot off 52nd outside of town. Just you and me. I’ll be waiting,” he finished threateningly. The camera switched to the news anchor to conclude.

They would be playing the video on repeat to be sure the man would see it. Joe had cops on standby a few blocks down in either direction making sure no curious people would come and get hurt, and Barry was ready in the warehouse. Now, they waited.

* * *

 

Harrison had called ahead to have a taxi waiting at the donation center. When he finished signing his van and belongings over to the charity, he had the taxi take him to the Tesla dealer on the outskirts of Star City. After getting his contacts prescription the previous day, he found a metallic blue Tesla Model S P85D with only 1,700 miles on it at that location for a steal. He did the math, and with plans to sell his house and purchase a condo he would be able to afford his current dream car. Harrison offered the taxi driver a sizeable tip to hold on to his belongings until he could transfer them to his car.

An hour later, he walked out of the dealership with the remote to his new ride. His first drive would be 600 miles back to Central City on nothing but interstate. His face was lit with a childlike grin, making him appear completely boyish. The only thing left to complete his transition into his new life would be to contact a realtor when he got home.

* * *

 

Cisco had installed a camera on the warehouse so they could watch everything that happened. Barry’s communications devices had been reinstalled in his mask. They had only been waiting for half an hour when Cisco saw something move on the edge of the camera’s view. “Barry, I think he’s there. I saw something move 20 yards from your position outside the warehouse.” Caitlin watched with baited breath. They heard Barry respond to them, “I’ve got eyes on him.” 

Through the camera, they heard the Shredder call out, “Hey Flash! You ready for me?”

Barry drew in a deep breath and calmed his nerves for a moment. He didn’t want to kill this guy, so he would have to hit him just right to knock him out and bring him to the Pipeline. But he had one question. “What do you want with me?” he shouted back to the man.

“I didn’t ask for this, you know.” Caitlin and Cisco watched the man move closer to the door of the warehouse. “I was at home when this damn curse happened. My wife made dinner and I was taking it out when it exploded. The glass from the dish shattered and impaled me from the waist up. I should have died, but then the accelerator explosion happened. That damn disaster ruined so many of our lives.” The Shredder moved even closer to the warehouse preparing to open the door.

Barry raced through the door before Edge could see him and stood on the far side of the lot. He yelled, “But that doesn’t explain why you want me! What do you want?”

“I want to die!” The man’s eyes lit up with fury as he turned and threw his arms forward, thousands of shards of glass forming out of his hands. Barry dodged them carefully.

“You’re not going to die. You’re going to pay for hurting innocent people.” He ducked under the next wave of glass as he got closer to the villain. Barry started with an uppercut to his gut and barraged him with hits over the rest of his body, faster than Cisco’s camera could keep up with.

Caitlin reminded, “Barry, you’re going to kill him if you keep up. Stop now!” she warned, not wanting him to accidentally take the fight too far. Barry listened and finished with a well placed punch under the man’s jaw. As if in slow motion, the Shredder dropped to the ground.

* * *

 

An hour outside of town, Harrison stopped at a charging station to recharge the car. If he stayed at the station for 20 minutes, he would make it into town with plenty of power to spare. Conveniently, the station was in the parking lot of a mall, so he went inside to stretch his legs and get a bite to eat before making the trek home. 

Waiting in line for his pizza, he turned on his phone and decided to search for an experienced realtor in Central City. He found someone by the name of Grace Richards and gave her a call. Luckily, she made no mention of his name or history. Professional courtesy, he guessed. Harrison informed her of his housing needs and mentioned that he wanted to get started before the weekend. Considering it was Friday night, he didn’t have long. By the time he sat down with his food, an appointment had been gracefully made for half past 5, after business hours. He would have been home for half an hour by then, giving him a while to make sure the house was in order and to call Caitlin and let her know he was back in town. He’d also need to ask if she would be willing to extend his stay in her apartment for a day or two until he was able to find a condo.

Harrison found himself smiling at the thought of his friend. At least he had one person on Earth who was close to him during his new beginning.  He texted her:  _ I’m an hour out of town filling up. I’ll call you when I get there-5pm or earlier. See you soon :) HW _

His phone alerted him to a text just after he turned on the car.  _ Can’t wait! -Cait _

* * *

 

The team was scattered around STAR Labs after having locked The Shredder in the pipeline. It was approaching 5 in the afternoon and Caitlin still hadn’t heard from Harrison yet. She tried not to worry. After all, what reason did she have? She was at least calmed in knowing that his phone was on. So if something did happen she would be able to track him down. But when 5 came around, her worry returned. It didn’t seem like forgetting to call was something this new Harrison would do. He assured her only hours ago that at the latest she would hear from him at 5, and now 5 was passing with no call. Caitlin waited for a couple minutes to pass before she dialed Harrison’s number. He did tell her the day previous that if he didn’t call her, she should call him.

Unfortunately, the phone rang 5 times and went on to voicemail. The edge of panic was approaching so she called Cisco down to the cortex. The moment he arrived to the room, all of the computer monitors lit red with a warning from Harrison’s house. They hadn’t even known his house was connected to the system, but they were glad it was- the message was the carbon monoxide alarm going off. The pieces fell together and Caitlin wasted no time in shouting, “Barry!”

* * *

 

_ 5 minutes earlier _

Harrison got home at exactly 5pm and smirked at the small feat of accurately guessing his arrival time. He placed his remote on the table in the foyer and pulled the phone from his back pocket. He opted to call Caitlin while he gave the house one last walk-through. He’d just scrolled down to her name when he heard the doorbell ring. He wondered if the realtor had come early, but why would she have? He pocketed his phone once more and walked to the monitor, seeing no one in front of his door. “That’s odd,” he spoke to himself. He decided to check outside the door anyway. As soon as it was open, he felt a breeze and almost immediately afterward heard an abnormally deep voice behind him.

“Doctor Harrison Wells. How nice to finally meet you,” the voice greeted. Harrison turned quickly but saw nothing. A moment later, a man seemed to appear out of nowhere mere feet in front of him, wearing black head to toe. His eyes hid his fear as he realized that there was a meta-human standing right in front of him, and he wasn’t here to sing Kumbaya. 

“What do you want with me?” He would converse with this man no longer than necessary. He started pulling his phone from his back pocket, but since it was a touch screen, he couldn’t see to call anyone without alerting the meta-human. 

“Oh, what do I want with you…let me see. Oh yes! I want you to pay, Doctor Wells! Your stupid little science project turned me into a monster. You don’t even recognize me, do you?”

Harrison’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, still very on edge. “Who are you? Why should I recognize you?”

The man laughed darkly, seeming to have all the time in the world. “You see, I was a Physician’s Assistant here at the ER in Central City. I had a beautiful family and a promising career. We’d just bought a nice apartment in town. But one day, I woke up and found my family dead in my home.” The man’s voice sounded more menacing as the story went on. “There was an alarm going off. I didn’t know what happened until I looked in the mirror and didn’t see a reflection. It took weeks to figure it out, but we had a small carbon monoxide leak in our home.  So when your damn science project exploded, it turned me into that poison! I didn’t have any control over it and had suffocated them while I was out cold from the blast and it set off the alarms. It took me a while before I could control it, but once I did, I got a job at a hospital in Star City.” He started sounding less angry and more threatening. “I was trying to restart my life, away from the memories of my family. I’ve been there since. Now, imagine my surprise when I walk in your room one day! I recognized you immediately. I don’t know how more people didn’t.” Harrison was stepping back from the man as he moved forward. “I couldn’t take my revenge there, it was far too risky. So I followed you. I followed you here. And now I’m going to get revenge for all the hell you put me through,” he finished with a growl. The man vanished. 

Harrison knew he needed to take this opportunity and get out as soon as possible, but for all he knew, the man was already inside his lungs. He had to call Caitlin. She could contact Barry for him. But before he could reach for his phone, a headache rapidly went from nonexistent to excruciating. His mind was too numb from the pain to even think. He felt the floor moving and suddenly slammed into it. He could vaguely hear his phone ring, but his mind was too far gone to do anything about it. He heard an alarm sound, but it seemed distant. The floor was still moving in every direction underneath him and he felt himself fade away into unconsciousness.

* * *

 

Barry appeared almost instantly in the cortex, yellow lightning following him. A sound like that coming from Caitlin could not be a good thing. “It’s Harrison! He said he’d call but he didn’t and then the alarm just went off to his house. I think he’s dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. You have to go get him!” Before she could blink, he was gone. She turned to the desk and buried her face in her hands. Cisco’s arms wrapped around her. This couldn’t be happening.

Barry pushed the doors open with ease when he arrived and saw Harrison on the floor turning a dark shade of pink. He felt the side of Harrison’s neck and noted a barely detectable pulse. A breeze hit him very briefly, seeming to come from Harrison’s face. This was the first time Barry had seen this new Harrison and he was already dying, right before his eyes. Mere seconds had passed since he arrived and he cradled Harrison in his arms before racing back to the lab.

Cisco had helped Caitlin retain a sense of calm so she would be able to take care of Harrison when he arrived. Doctor Stein had since come up from Cisco’s workroom, and he and Caitlin were waiting bedside in the medical wing. They knew Harrison would need oxygen, so Cisco wheeled the oxygen tank to the bed while Caitlin connected the mask and tubing. Barry shot through the room and laid Harrison gently but quickly down onto the bed. 

The oxygen mask had only been on him for a minute before Harrison started convulsing. Doctor Stein calmly informed, “Alright, that must have been very concentrated carbon monoxide. This signifies a severe reaction. It must have been at least .75ppm.” Doctor Stein looked grimly at Caitlin. She knew the only thing that would help him at this point was a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but he would still run the risk of brain damage.

Caitlin looked to Doctor Stein. “There isn’t a hyperbaric chamber for hundreds of miles. There’s no way we could get him there in time.”

Cisco lit up. “Guys, take him to one of the cells in the pipeline. I should be able to pressurize one enough and use the ventilation to deliver oxygen, just like we delivered the sleeping gas before.” Without hesitation, Barry snatched Harrison up and raced to the pipeline. Harrison was still convulsing and Barry could no longer hear him breathing.

“Guys, he’s not breathing. We need to work fast.”

“Already on it!” Cisco responded through the comm. “Alright, now get out and close the door. Fast.” As soon as Barry was out of the cell, he initiated the pressurization and oxygen flow into the room. Hopefully this would work. 

Professor Stein took a deep breath and announced. “All we can do now is wait. We should know how this will turn out in the next couple hours.” His voice sounded grim. He hadn’t ever seen anyone recover from this severe of carbon monoxide poisoning without serious brain damage. Caitlin must have been thinking the same thing, because from the moment Barry took Harrison from the medical wing, she was silent and white as a sheet.

Caitlin was just getting to know Harrison. They were already so close and both looked forward to their growing friendship, but then fate had to interfere once more. She’d lost so much already and was about to lose someone else. Harrison had just turned a new leaf in his life and they hadn’t even talked yet. Knowing the odds of his recovery, they would probably never speak again.

Still in shock, Caitlin felt two long arms wrap around her as Barry hugged her close to himself. Without thinking she laid her head on his chest, trying to keep her raw emotions from escaping. Barry knew nothing about this new Harrison, but he obviously meant something to Caitlin already. He didn’t want to console her with lies since she knew the odds better than he did, so he settled for hollow comfort.

After ten minutes standing together, Caitlin regained her senses and looked around, noticing Cisco and Doctor Stein must have vacated the room long ago. She looked up to Barry with red rimmed eyes. “Thank you, Barry.”Turning to the computer monitor, she lowered herself into the chair in front of it. On the screen was Harrison’s cell, still pressurized and being pumped full of oxygen. She could do nothing but watch and wait. 


End file.
